Jacob Horstkamp, a junior at North County High School, was elected by members of the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils today to be the 2015-2016 student member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education (SMOB).
Emily Balzano of Annapolis High School and Linda Waters of Broadneck High School were the other candidates for the position.
Jacob’s name will be forwarded to Governor Larry Hogan, who must make the formal appointment. He would be just the second SMOB from North County High School, and would succeed current student member Ayesha Chaudhry of South River High School, whose one-year term expires in June. North County’s only other SMOB was Terry Gilleland, who served in the 1994-95 school year.
Jacob is currently the second vice president of CRASC and has also served as chair of CRASC’s Educational Liaisons Committee. He was the organization’s representative on the School Start Times Task Force in 2014, and has been a member of the Superintendent’s Teen Advisory Committee since 2013.
“I am passionate about educational policy and promoting a stronger and more diverse learning community, and I am confident that with my experience and qualifications, I will exceed the expectations of this position,” Jacob said. “I look forward to working with the other Board members and the AACPS staff for the next year.”
Upon appointment, Jacob will become the 42nd student member of the Board. Students have held a seat on the Board since 1974, when Andover High School’s Jeffrey Robinson served in an advisory capacity. Anne Arundel’s student member has had full voting rights since 1975, and is the only member of a local school board in the nation to have that status.
If appointed, Jacob would assume his seat on July 1.
Student Members of the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County